Page 17

M orning breaks soft on the Clouds: a gentle glow through the mist that stretches from shore to horizon.

I’m lying on the deeply-carpeted floor of our suite, working through the first of the modified taiji forms that I’ll practice for the next hour, when I see a shimmer out of the windows to the west. I rise slowly, being careful as I move, both to avoid pulling a muscle as I come out of a tiān'é stretch and to avoid waking Kez.

I wave my hand in front of the window until a control panel pops up.

Dial the polarization to dark. I don’t need light to see what I’m doing, and I don’t want it to disturb Kez.

She’s had a pretty good night, despite the nightmare, but it’s still early for her.

She was in R.E.M. sleep when I got up, which means she might get one more deep sleep cycle in if she’s not disturbed.

While Kez and I haven’t been short of sleep lately, I’m concerned that the stress is beginning to wear on her.

That might have been the source of the tears in the night, even more than the intensity of our fucking.

She’ll handle everything better if she’s well-rested.

I return to my forms, working steadily through each one.

Some do-gooder whitecoat on K-G warned me that I’d have a lot of pain as I got older, given the number of times I’ve been injured.

I haven’t seen much sign of it so far, although the hole a tegli chewed in my shoulder two weeks ago has taken longer to heal than I would have liked and still twinges now and then.

Maybe the whitecoat reckoned without my modifications.

Still, practicing the taiji forms I was taught as a grunt in SAWL to restore circulation and flexibility after Deep deploys can’t hurt.

Just as Kez is beginning to stir, making those soft, sexy noises she makes as she wakes, there’s a discreet blip from the door.

Perfect timing. Gotta hand it to this place, they’ve followed my instructions to the letter.

I said we weren’t to be disturbed for anything.

We weren’t disturbed. I said I wanted breakfast delivered at eight.

It’s four seconds after, according to my chrono.

I roll up off the floor and answer the door. A hover-table, richly set with warm and cold dishes, a steaming silver pot of kaffe, and a tea pot exhaling the floral fragrance of the chrysanthemum tea Kez likes, sits outside the door. Left, as per my instructions. Perfect.

I guide the hover table in, lock the door behind me.

There’s a table for two near the panoramic window, but when I tap the window to depolarize it, I realize there’s a balcony outside with an even better view.

I flick the window open and step out into the cool sea breeze.

Despite missing sunrise, the view is breathtaking.

A golden arc of sand defines the now-sleeping Night Market.

The city’s warehouses and silvery high-rises look like children’s building blocks in the red morning light.

A model city. The ocean stretches to the horizon to my left.

Swathes of purple reveal the reefs lurking below the white-capped surface.

A huge black bowship cuts a wide, white path through the water towards Tiv’s port, while smaller skimmers whirr over the whitecaps, barely leaving a ripple to mark their passage.

I step back from the balcony’s edge, which is tastefully fringed with olive-green foliage, but I’m sure buried in all those leaves is an anti-grav rail to keep guests from making a dramatic exit. It is a long way down .

There are several clusters of furniture on the balcony, under a white sail that stretches down from the pyramid roof-top above our suite.

The sail provides gossamer shade against Kuseros’s binary star, which is already mid-sky and casting its hot red light over the balcony.

One of the furniture groups is a table and chairs, with seats for six.

How many guests do they think we’re having for breakfast?

It can’t be set for the room’s occupants; there’s only one bed.

Unless they think our sleeping arrangements are even more complicated than Acker’s.

Chuckling at that thought, I guide the hover-table over to the seating group and go to collect Kez.

She’s sitting up in our bed, looking sleepy and sweetly tousled. I collect a pair of fluffy white robes from a cubby in the bathroom and wrap Kez in one before I carry her outside.

“I can walk,” she murmurs into my neck.

I know she can, but I like babying her sometimes. “Just sparin’ those bruised toes, kitten.”

I deposit her in a chair so deeply padded, it swallows her. Slide into my own robe before I join her at the table. The robe’s heated and the chair’s thick padding conforms to my body as I settle into it. Now that’s luxury.

Kez pours me a cup of kaffe and sits back to cradle her own tea against her chest. She breathes deep, taking in the floral aroma, which I can smell even over the kaffe and briny breeze. “This is nice,” she says, looking out over the water.

“You hungry?” I ask, keeping my tone low, not wanting to disturb her contemplation with big decisions. The last few weeks have brought Kez enough pain. She should be able to sit back and enjoy some of the perks of the space and time we’ve won.

“I thought we were eating breakfast with Payton.”

I shrug. “Let’s make it brunch.”

“Mmm, in that case, I’m starving. What’ve we got?”

“Little of everything.” I ordered all our favorite dishes.

Okayu and lots of fruit for Kez. Sweet and savory pancakes, fried pagia eggs and three kinds of meat for me.

Chok fritters to share, as a treat. Kaffe, tea, juice, and iced water, which is a luxury here on the Clouds, where fresh water is even more expensive than on the mainland.

If I gave the water a shake, I bet it would display the Tyng logo.

At least we’ll be making back a percentage of whatever ridiculous amount the hotel is charging us.

I pass Kez an etched glaz plate and let her wade in. She takes several crispy pieces of auro off a hot tray, which surprises me, since she usually doesn’t eat meat in the morning.

“I can see why you like this,” she says, chewing meditatively. “You and Acker were getting pally last night.”

I shrug. “He feels like an old friend already.”

Kez beams around a bite of auro . “That’s great.”

“Why’s that?”

Kez chews some more before she says, “Everyone needs friends. Even you.”

“Even me, huh?” I arch an eyebrow at her. I know she thinks she’s reforming me from my loner ways, and she’s probably right. “I got a friend already.”

“I was hoping to be more than your friend.”

I chuckle and take a few bites of the eggs, which have been lightly salted and heavily peppered, exactly the way pagia should be. “What’d Tiancha have to say?”

“We were talking clothes.” Kez glances at me and flushes to the pierced tips of her ears. “And sex.”

“Ah-ha. Anything interesting?”

“Well, Acker isn’t sleeping with Grace. At least not yet. He wants Tee to accept her first.”

I have to give the man credit. Both for having the balls to go for a threesome, and for having the tact to get Tiancha’s consent first. “How’s she feel about that?”

Kez lifts an eyebrow. “Confused. Hurt that she’s not enough for him. Honored that he’d ask. She loves him for not sneaking around behind her back, but she’s furious at him for wanting Grace in the first place. It’s a mess.”

I finish the eggs while I consider this and start on a stack of lemon, cheese and whitefish pancakes.

I didn’t order these specifically, but I recognize the chef’s genius by the second bite.

Wonder if they’ll give me the recipe. ‘Honored Tyng’ should have that much pull.

If not, I could offer them a discount on the damn water.

While I’m still contemplating, Kez asks, “Were you and Acker talking about the same thing?”

“Some. Some about his problems with the Ojos . Some about why the fuck the Kemwars keep signing C-listers like Pevek.”

Kez chuckles at my disgust with the team’s dodgy decisions.

“Don’t know if you heard my conversation with Grace before dinner,” I say. “But she cannot keep her fucking mouth shut. She called me—” I pause, not confident of the tingler’s range. “By that name, right in front of everyone.”

Kez stiffens in her chair. “She what?”

“Yeah.”

“H-how do they know?”

“Your friends, the Kuus rats, I’m guessing. Either they had a watcher who heard me say it, or the Snatchers gave it up. Either way, it’s a safe bet most of the Kuseros underground knows now.”

“What are you going to do?” Kez asks. Her face tenses, and she sounds fearful. She knows how fiercely I’ve protected that secret in the past.

I shrug. “Nothin’. I’m not happy about it, but I’d be lot less happy if Doc Gray hadn’t given me my new fingerprints.

” I wiggle my fingers at her. “Myhre’s got one of those mech-eyed creepers in R-and-D workin’ on somethin’ that’ll wipe out my DNA profile anywhere it’s stored on the hypernet.

If that works, I won’t need to do anythin’. ”

Kez takes a sip of her tea and looks out over the white-caps. I can tell she’s trying to relax; I’m not sure if she’s succeeding. “If it doesn’t work? ”

I reach out and stroke her bangs back from her face. “What’re you worried about, kitten? You think I’d wipe ‘em all out just to protect my name?”

Her big blues flick to me. “Would you?”

Yeah, I probably would. Once upon a time. Now, I’ve got other considerations. “Think that’d make a good impression on my new best friend?”

Kez shakes her head, but her eyes continue to search my face.

“Your subterranean buddies are safe from me, kitten. ‘Least for now. We got other things to worry about. You got any signal?” I nod at the collection of straps, beads and mirrors around her left wrist, buried in the robe’s plush.

“No, nothing since we crossed the Cloudline. The hotel has a mainland link, but I doubt it’s secure.”